Monthly Archives: February 2012

This past week was a whirlwind of activity and it really got my blood moving. And that’s a good thing! On Monday I had plenty to stress about. Getting all the last minute Mardi Gras stuff together, working on decorations for the hall and setting up the church for Ash Wednesday and really stressing about the new fish dinner menu items. I don’t mind people venting themselves to me about problems but dammit, be ready to offer a solution. When my solution isn’t good enough then just tell me what you’re thinking and you better be right. Work and prayer has truly pulled me through this week.

In the midst of chaos we welcomed the Holy Season of Lent. I am praying for calm. I AM PRAYING FOR SPRING! Yes, I know we’ve had a mild winter but I miss sitting outside on my patio. My critters miss going outside too. I would just love to have a few days of peace. Is that too much to ask. Apparently, it is!

I was very happy about the reaction to the new fish menu items. I have to admit I was bracing myself for a mountain of complaints but it didn’t happen. We did have the misfortune of serving some fish that was still frozen. Ouch! All it takes is one complaint to get the negativity ball rolling. Hopefully we have solved that problem and pray that we don’t have this happen again.

Remember that commercial of the lady who falls and can’t get up? Did you know the original lady in that commercial died? Just a little fun fact to place in your pie plate. The whole thing on aging has kind of swung around again. this may 11th I will turn 56 years old. Not a big deal right? At least that’s what the older generations tell me. “Wait till you turn my age!” is the common retort from a member of that team. Well guess what, I’m feeling it now! So right now, in this moment, it’s all about me. I think I’m entitled.

All this started from a news report about when the anniversary of astronaut John Glenn made his trips around the earth. My goodness that was fifty years ago…..and I remember it. I remember it because John Glenn was probably my first hero. I remember having a color photo of him hanging on my bedroom wall along with a picture poster from NASA with all the astronauts on it. My fascination with all things “Outer Space” was a great fad that had a great run. But it seemed to diminish after watching the first man walk on the moon. I’m sure my interests moved on to something else.

As I look over my life in the past fifty years, I can recall so many things. I seem to be losing my innate ability to remember the itsy-bitsy stuff but I believe that is natural. I guess the one thing that saddens me is the way things die. I clearly remember the City of Gary as it used to be and not how it is today. There is plenty of blame to go around as to why the city is in ruins. But I prefer to look ahead with the hope that it can come back. Maybe not in my lifetime….but somewhere when someone who has a dream to make it happen.

Growing older is supposed to be the time when we become wiser, more compassionate and more understanding. That is the state of my “growing older” that I wish to accomplish.

I made an executive decision today. I decided to move my bedroom to the front of the rectory. this means putting my ginormous king size bed into my larger room. I’ve been contemplating this move for awhile and today it took all the energy I had to start it going. I made significant progress but I also knew that I would have to do some serious cleaning. Namely with the vacuum and carpet cleaner. I finally got to see where all the cats have been throwing up and where that dog I fostered made pee-pee all over the place. I am so glad I bought soil resistant carpet with pets in mind. Nasty, nasty, nasty! But it will all be good and by this evening I should be done.

But this all started a couple of weeks ago when I watched an episode of Hoarders on TLC. Yikes! I began to look at all my “stuff” and realized, this stuff has got to go. My biggest hoard is clothing. I have four closets worth of clothes. And they are good clothes. Some of them are off only one size and I paid a lot of bucks for them. I can honestly say that my weight does float 10 to 15 pounds. But there are some things I haven’t worn in a few years and now its come to this…..get rid of it!

But there is other clutter in my life too. There is a reason for my madness although I know its not the best reason. Let’s be honest and say its an excuse. We all have some type of clutter in our lives. Whether it be spiritual, physical or emotional. We all need to clean our “house” from time to time. I invite you to reflect with me. What are the things that are cluttering up your life?

I’m rooting for New York Giants! Why? Why not?! I love New York! In fact, I’m counting down the days until my trip in March to see some shows: Book of Mormon, David Letterman, and Spiderman. I also plan on visiting the Today Show, The 911 Museum and just do some shopping and other tourist kind of stuff. Yes….I love New York!

I am also so proud to be a Hoosier today as I watch all the reports coming out of Indy about how well organized the Super Bowl Events. I wish I could do this zip line I’ve been seeing. Everyone I’ve talked to who has been to the Super Bowl Village has told me how exciting it was. To top it off, God really blessed Indiana with NO SNOW!

I was hoping to turn a new leaf and begin posting faithfully. Sounded good at first but in reality when I come home after 10 days of being on vacation, I always find myself thrown into the Lion’s mouth. Not that anything has been difficult or unusual to the ordinary parish priest but certainly a busy schedule resumes. AND, I thrive on it! Never a dull moment indeed.

This week my heart has been touched by sadness. One of my parishioners whom I had become close to passed away suddenly. Chris was 39 years old did not wake up last Saturday morning. The shock of his death sent waves throughout the community. Chris worked at Menard’s here in Portage. But he also worked for the community. Chris had a vision. He wanted to see the city that he lived in do good things. One of his pet projects was Rebuilding Together Portage. Chris and I were working closely on putting together a fund raiser that would help generate some dollars. RTP helps persons of low income to make necessary repairs to their homes that they cannot afford for various reasons, whether they were unemployed, aged, widowed. It is a classic case of stewardship that Chris awoke to and his mission was fierce.

His passing will certainly put a dent into the program but I am praying that his determination will be an inspiration to our community. I am hoping we, as a community, can collectively pick up the cross of grief and move forward and have great success in helping out those in need.